Danny Phantom oneshot: Friendship
by JH24
Summary: When Skulker appears in Amity Park once again, an over-confident Danny decides to have a bit of fun with the ghost hunter. However, his actions not only endanger his own life but the life of his best friend as well.


_Title: Danny Phantom one-shot: Friendship._

Author: JH24

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. This awesome show and all of its characters are property of Butch Hartman.

Genre: Action/Adventure

Spoilers: The story could take place somewhere after "Frightmare", but before "Phantom Planet."

Pairings: No Pairings

Main characters: Danny Phantom, Tucker, Skulker.

Outside characters: None

Warnings: There is a bit of violence in this story. Blood (green ecto-plasm) and small wounds are mentioned.

Story Synopsis: When Skulker appears in Amity Park once again, an over-confident Danny decides to have a bit of fun with the ghost hunter. However, his actions not only endanger his own life but the life of his best friend as well.

My sincere thanks to Bluemoonalto for beta-reading. I could not have done this without you! I'm really grateful for your help and support.

EDIT: Uploaded a newer version, there were a few mistakes I overlooked.

* * *

**Danny Phantom one-shot**

**Friendship  
**

"Tonight I'll finally add you to my trophy collection, whelp!"

"Oh, yeah? You still have to catch me, tinhead!" the boy replied in a cocky tone, effortlessly avoiding several missiles while flying through the air.

"Danny, don't you think you're taking a bit too much risk here?"

"Oh, come on, Tuck," he said while adjusting the Fenton Phone and dodging another incoming missile. "I know what I'm doing." Danny looked behind him, grinning slightly. "Trust me, I have everything under control!" The teen dived down and flew past several office buildings— he could see Tucker standing in the shadow of one of them, near the edge of the park. Upon making eye contact, Danny briefly waved and smiled to his best friend, before propelling himself higher into the air, casting a shadow on the ground as he passed in front of the full moon.

Tucker looked up for a moment, before glancing at his PDA to determine Skulker's position. It was funny, he could still remember how terrified all three of them had felt in their first encounters with the hunter, nearly two years ago. And these days, although Danny would never admit it, he seemed to enjoy playing games with the ghost. Tucker looked up in the air again and quickly located Danny, evading another barrage of missiles his pursuer had fired.

Danny positioned himself higher above the park, giving him a clear view of the surroundings beneath. He could see Skulker rapidly approaching as he fired another missile volley at him. Smirking, Danny willed himself intangible, letting the projectiles phase harmlessly through his body. The young half-ghost crossed his arms and slightly tilted his head to the right, smiling confidently. "Hey, Skulker!"

The hunter halted a few meters in front of his prey and frowned. "What?" he answered, a hint of irritation in his voice.

Danny chuckled with amusement. "Don't tell me you're only going to fire missiles at me tonight. Those are hardly a challenge." He grabbed a handful of his own hair, tugging it playfully, giving his opponent a teasing smile. "If you really want my head on your wall tonight— eww— you'll have to do better than that. I thought I was your most valuable prey. Aren't I worth at least some more effort?"

Skulker grinned in response; it was obvious the boy was just taunting him. But he didn't mind, in fact, he had begun to enjoy these skirmishes more and more as time passed. Even though his main goal was still to capture the ghost child, recent encounters had proven to be refreshing, and his prey had new surprises in store each time they met. And from the looks of it, the whelp seemed to enjoy these little skirmishes as well, as he used every opportunity he got to make fun of him.

Danny changed his legs into a wisp and dived toward the ground. Skulker set off in hot pursuit, activating a laser on his right arm and locking the weapon onto his target. However, before he could fire, Danny flew out of sight behind a grove of trees close to the park's lake. The hunter halted, carefully weighing his options with a thoughtful frown. On normal hunts he would usually rush in and surprise his prey, either with a paralyzing dart or a well-aimed net. But the ghost child was quite exceptional, making this hunt anything but normal.

_It might be a trap_, he thought, _better check for his energy signature first. For all I know he could have gone intangible or invisible._ Before he could look at the computer screen on his left wrist a green ecto-blast flew past him, barely missing his face. Unfazed by the boy's actions, Skulker grinned slightly as he activated the rockets on his back, quickly closing the distance between him and his prey, who was now hanging upside down in the air with his arms crossed and legs turned to normal, smiling teasingly. "I'll get you for that, whelp," the ghost hunter yelled, firing his laser several times.

Danny effortlessly avoided the blasts by doing a cartwheel. "Yeah?" he retorted. "If I had a nickel for every time you said that," the teen chuckled. "Just catch me first and then we'll talk."

"Smart-mouthed little..." Skulker swallowed the last word upon seeing his prey flying away from him at full speed, changing his lower body into a wisp once again. _The growth of the ghost child's abilities are simply amazing— especially his speed, which seems to increase every time we meet._ The hunter chuckled as he pressed a button on his onboard computer. _Luckily I had anticipated this development. Time to test out my new upgrade._ "Computer." The device bleeped briefly in acknowledgment. "Divert 10 percent of energy from all primary systems and re-route it towards the boosters."

**Diverting stated amount... processing... adjusting all sectors to new energy levels.**

For a moment Skulker could feel his suit powering down, as if heavy weights were pulling his arms and legs toward the ground. It was not a pleasant feeling, but he knew it was only temporary. The computer needed to balance the remaining energy to make sure his suit kept functioning properly and to prevent any chance of short-circuiting.

The computer bleeped again. **Distribution completed in 3... 2... 1... All sectors re-activated, system ready for use.**

Skulker grinned, his eyes widening with anticipation. _Now, I'm going to make you regret those words, whelp._ "Computer, initiate Booster Overdrive!" Within a second, the ghost shot forward with incredible velocity, his speed increasing with every second. The rocket boosters on his back left massive glowing, green flames in their wake.

Looking through binoculars from a distance, Tucker gasped as he saw Skulker quickly approaching his friend. "Danny, behind you! Look out!" the agitated teen yelled into his Fenton Phone.

"Tucker?" Danny quickly looked behind him. "What do you— Woah!" He immediately shot upward. "Thanks for notifying me, Tuck." Danny looked behind him again and saw that Skulker was hot on his tail. Overcoming his initial surprise, he smirked at the incoming hunter. "So, you want a race, do you?"

"Danny!"

The ghost boy flinched upon hearing his friend's loud voice blasting through his headphones.

"Dude, are you insane?" Tucker yelled. "This is Skulker we're talking about. You have a Thermos on you, just use it!"

Danny let out a chuckle. "I will, Tuck. Just give me five more minutes, I want to have some more fun with bucket head over there." He could hear his friend sigh over the phone. "Relax, I have everything under control. I'm still at the 'we exchange witty banter' part," he added cheerily. "Besid— aaah!"

"Danny?"

No response.

Danny, answer me!" Tucker shouted. He grabbed his binoculars again and looked where Danny had just been. The teen gasped. "Oh, no." His friend was holding one hand tightly to the side of his face— he must have been hit. "Danny, say something!"

Still no response.

He then noticed Danny throwing something away. "Great," the teen murmured, "apparently his Fenton Phone was damaged. You really have to be more careful, dude, even your dad won't believe our accident stories anymore if you keep this up." He then put the binocs and phones into his backpack and stepped onto his scooter. He glanced over his shoulder reflexively, then remembered with a start that Sam had gone to a family wedding this weekend. He sighed. Normally they would all be in this together, but tonight he had to do this on his own.

"Oh man," Danny groaned defeatedly. "My parents are going to kill me, this was the third Fenton Phone this month." He sighed. "Maybe Tucker was right." The teen flew just a few centimeters above the calm water of the lake, his speed leaving a trail of waves behind, with Skulker quickly closing in on him. _Sorry, Tuck, this was supposed to be the start of our girl-free weekend together, but what am I doing? Just wasting time taunting Skulker instead of finishing him off._ Danny turned around, his back to the water. "I'm going to end this right now," he muttered, glowing energy spheres forming in his hands.

"No, I think not." Skulker said confidently. With a thought he produced a launcher from his left shoulder and fired a small projectile. His prey immediately turned intangible to let the weapon pass through him. _That won't help you much, ghost child._

Instead, and to Danny's surprise, the projectile exploded just in front of him in a blinding flash of white light. The half-ghost screamed in agony as he covered his pain-stricken eyes. His temporary blindness caused him to lose his balance and sense of direction, and slowed him down as well. Realizing the dangerous position he was in, the only safe route left for him was higher into the air.

Tucker's eyes widened in shock as he noticed the bright light above the lake, grateful that it was located close to the park's entrance. I should be there within a minute. _Maybe Danny doesn't need my help, but you never know._ The teen could only hope that his friend wouldn't end up at the other side of the lake, or he would never get there in time.

Satisfied with the effects of the lightning grenade, Skulker de-activated the rocket-boosters and positioned himself a few meters higher above the water. "I've got you now, pup." The ghost hunter fired a green, glowing net that enveloped his prey within seconds. Danny cried in shock as his flight was abruptly halted. Skulker reeled in the net while flying toward the shore, where he slammed the net with its prey on the ground, making the half-ghost groan in pain. The hunter landed, grabbed the teen by the neck, lifted him and the net into the air and then pushed him against the trunk of a nearby tree.

Gasping for air, Danny desperately tried to pry Skulker's cold, metal hand away from his neck.

Skulker smiled widely at his struggling prey. He slowly moved his head closer, clearly enjoying every second of the sight he beheld. "What's the matter? No more witty banter?"

Danny's eyesight was still very poor, but he had recovered just enough to see the ghost hunter's smug expression. The teen scolded himself for allowing this to happen. _Why did I want to act like a show-off? Look what this has gotten me into. I should have listened!_ He tried to will himself intangible but couldn't— just breathing was taking all the energy he had.

The hunter activated a large, flaming blade on his right wrist. He chuckled with delight as he brought the deadly weapon close to Danny's neck. The teen's eyes were wide open, a hint of fear visible within them. "You're mine now, whelp," he said threateningly. "You've underestimated me, and now you'll have to pay the price." His prey shut his eyes and moved his head as far as he could from the heat of the flaming sword.

Skulker moved his weapon even closer, but then doubt began to creep into his mind. For some reason, having his most valuable prey in such a vulnerable position didn't give him as much joy as he had hoped for. The ghost child was at his mercy, but why was he feeling so unsatisfied? Was it because this last battle had been so short? Or was it the thought that after killing him, he would not have the honor of hunting such an unique prey again? Skulker began to worry. _Or would it be the simple fact that Plasmius would kill me if he found out I was responsible for the child's death? I don't have to kill him just yet. I could take him to my hunting island in the Ghost Zone fir—_

**- Snap! -**

At the sound of a breaking twig, Skulker tensed. In a split second, he grabbed the net with Danny and held it out in the direction the noise originated from. A white beam emerged from the bushes, completely enveloping his captured prey, who yelled in shock. The hunter jumped backwards, startled to see the ghost child being pulled out of the net and into the shadows. The ghost grimaced. _Wait a second, I recognize that light._ He growled in irritation and immediately leaped into the bushes, where he found a horrified teen staring with disbelief at a smoking Fenton Thermos in his hands.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry, dude. I'm getting you out of there." But before he could release his friend from the cylinder, his arms were tied along his sides by a lasso. As the Thermos fell to the ground Tucker looked up in horror at Skulker, who was grinning at him evilly. The ghost yanked at the rope and threw him against the tree with a force that made pain shoot down his neck and back. He cried out as Skulker picked up the Thermos and placed the lid back on it.

Tucker realized what the ghost was planning. He lifted himself to his knees. "No, you can't do this! Just let him go!" he yelled, while trying to reach into his pocket with his right hand.

Skulker stared at the human with a grinning, triumphant expression. "I guess I should thank you for your assistance, even though it wasn't your intention. You've certainly made my job a lot easier." He chuckled as the teen's gaze grew more desperate. "Don't give me that look. No one can run forever from the greatest hunter of the Ghost Zone." He paused for a moment and frowned before continuing. "You had more than enough time the last months to say goodbye to your friend. You should have known that the capture of the ghost child was only a matter of time." His voice sounded surprisingly solemn.

"Maybe so," Tucker replied, a smile growing on his face, causing Skulker to blink in confusion. He grabbed something out of his pocket, keeping his actions hidden from the ghost's sight. "But it won't happen today!" With these words, Tucker shot a blast from a lipstick-shaped Fenton Utility Weapon, knocking the Thermos out of Skulker's hand.

The flames on Skulker's head began to grow. "Why, you little..." The teen pummeled the ghost with a volley of blasts, forcing him backwards before making him fall into the thick vegetation of several bushes. Tucker rushed in and kicked the Thermos away, causing it to roll down a little slope toward the water's edge. He then fired two more blasts at the hunter, stalling him for a few more valuable seconds. While running, the boy knew that his only chance was to free Danny from the Fenton Thermos, if Skulker would be able to get his hands on it again, it would all be over. Seeing the device glittering in the moonlight close to the lake, he grinned slightly. He only needed to get it, screw off the lid and press the 'release' button. There was still a lasso around him, constricting his movements considerably, but at least he'd had enough room to use his hands.

Unfortunately, Tucker stumbled over a thick root. He fell face first into the mud, before rolling down the same slope the Thermos had. He managed to stop just inches away from the cold, dark water of the lake. Lying on his left side, he managed to grab the Thermos and then rolled onto his back, desperately struggling to get the lid off.

Growling with anger, Skulker struggled to get out of the bushes. "I'm going to kill that—" He frowned irritably. "Why am I making this so hard on myself?" Willing himself intangible, the hunter activated his rockets and flew into the air.

"Come on, you stupid thing." Tucker muttered in utter frustration. "Get off, get off!" But that was easier said than done, his hands were wet with mud, and his grip was slipping every time he exerted force. But he had to pull through. It was his only chance. It was Danny's only chance!

With an angry roar, Skulker dived towards the ground aiming for his target, but the boy managed to roll away, barely avoiding a swipe from his hand. Glaring threateningly at the annoying human, he turned around and dived down again, this time his eyes set on the Thermos.

At that moment, Tucker managed to pull the lid off. He pressed the 'release' button and a bright flash of white light escaped from the cylindrical prison.

Skulker halted his approach. Clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes, he realized he was too late.

Sitting on the ground, using one hand to support himself and the other to rub his head, a dizzy Danny took in his surroundings, the blurriness slowly dissipating. "What happened?" he murmured in confusion. He then saw Tucker lying on his stomach in front of him. His clothes were stained, his glasses were lying in the mud and he had lost his beret. Danny also noticed a glowing, green rope tied around his waist. Despite his condition, Tucker looked relieved, and was smiling back weakly.

Danny turned to his right as he heard someone land close by, upon seeing Skulker he ground his teeth and made his eyes glow intensely. He stood up, glaring angrily at his opponent.

The ghost hunter grinned confidently at his prey. "You want to fight again, do you?" He chuckled with amusement while walking forward. "I guess that's alright with me. I do hope you'll be more of a challenge this time, whelp."

Danny did not reply. Instead he clenched his fists and a green glow appeared around his entire body. Within a second, three duplicates appeared around him. They all took on a battle stance, not taking their eyes off the ghost hunter for even a second.

"So you're going to be serious at last, ghost child?" Skulker smirked with delight. "I wouldn't want it any other way." The hunter formed another flaming blade, even bigger then the first one. With a massive roar the ghost leaped towards them, holding the burning weapon above his head. Danny and his duplicates avoided the huge swipe that followed by flying into the air. Skulker immediately followed in pursuit, only to be pummeled by a torrent of ecto-blasts. The original Danny flew towards the ground again and landed next to his friend, while his doppelgangers kept the ghost hunter occupied.

Danny immediately knelt down and helped Tucker sit up. "Tuck, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

His friend grinned weakly in response before looking down. "Well, I guess things could have been worse, I have a few bruises but nothing serious. Only..." he looked at his clothing. "I'm a mess, my mother won't be happy about that."

The ghost teen smiled. "Don't worry Tuck, I'm sure that I can get rid of those stains by using intangibility." He then proceeded to remove the rope that was tied around his friend. "We'll think of an explanation to tell your parents about those bruises." He gave his friend a wink. "Everything will be alright."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Tucker answered as he put his glasses back on, but then he sobered and looked down at the ground. "Danny, I'm sorry."

Danny looked at him in surprise, throwing the rope behind him. "What do you—"

**"Aahh!"**

Danny and Tucker turned around, just in time to see one of Danny's duplicates being thrown into the lake by an energy blast, immediately followed by a barrage of missiles slamming into him, propelling huge amounts of water into the air.

Danny winced. "And that was one." He could feel a slight tingling as the energy he had used to keep his doppelganger alive was released, finding its freedom by spreading into every part of his body. The images his duplicate had seen as well as his actions during his brief existence inserted themselves in Danny's mind, making him realize that Skulker had become quite a bit stronger since their last encounter. Defeating him would not be so easy this time.

"Eh, dude," Tucker began cautiously. "Maybe it would be better if we—"

"Nah, it's alright, Tuck." He smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, I have everything und—" He stopped as he noticed his friend was frowning at him, then chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, I've said that before, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. Twice actually," Tucker added dryly.

The ghost teen put his friend's right arm around his neck and lifted him to his feet, while making them both briefly intangible to clean and dry Tucker's clothing. "Alright, let's get you to a safer place, then I'll take care of tin can up there," he said as he glared into the sky. At that moment a bright green flash briefly illuminated their surroundings, a clear sign of the battle raging above them.

As they walked away from the lake Danny bit his lip. There was something odd in Tucker's attitude, something that didn't quite make sense. Danny felt hesitant to ask about it, but finally he took a deep breath and looked at his friend. "Tuck," he began, "you just said you were sorry. For what?"

Tucker looked down as a wave of guilt washed over his face. "Well, I really messed things up for you. I sucked you into that Thermos, I almost ruined everything."

Danny stared incredulously at his friend. "Are you serious? This isn't your fault!" His voice became louder and his eyes began to glow. "If there is anyone to blame it should be me! It's because of me..." He paused for a second, and when he continued his voice was lowered to a soft whisper. "It's because of me."

Lost in his thoughts he carefully helped his friend sit down against a trunk of a large oak, the oldest and most well-known tree in all of Amity Park. He then sat down beside Tucker, and began staring at his white boots.

Tucker tilted his head slightly to the right. "Danny?" His friend slowly lifted his head, looking at him sadly. "Dude? Everything alright?"

"I'm sorry, Tuck."

"W-what?"

"You were right. I was too cocky. I put my life in danger, but more importantly, I put your life in danger as well. And I feel terrible about that."

Tucker looked solemn, "Well, I did warn you to stop playing games. You could have listened, you know."

Danny glanced at his friend for a second, before lowering his head again, sighing defeatedly.

Tucker's expression softened; smiling warmly he put a hand on Danny's left shoulder. "Dude, don't worry about it. It's alright."

Danny smiled for a moment, but then his sadness returned. "I can't believe how I could have acted like that. If something had happened to you, I... I would have never forgiven myself."

"Danny!" Tucker's voice sounded more firm this time. His friend looked at him, slightly surprised by his sudden outburst. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Everyone makes mistakes, even a hero like you. But it all ended well, right?"

"I guess you're right but... I have a responsibility to keep you safe. I let you down, Tuck."

Tucker sighed. "Look. If you really want to put the blame on anyone, then blame Skulker. He's the reason all of this happened in the first place!"

No response.

He sighed again. "Listen, it's true that it isn't the first time that I have gotten into danger. But you can't blame yourself for that, Danny. You're my best friend! I want to be with you, to help you. I know the risks every time I go with you. But I don't care about those risks! So stop blaming yourself!"

As Danny remained silent for several more seconds, Tucker began to shift uncomfortably. The ghost teen then slowly looked up, his expression filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Tuck."

He grinned. "Anytime. I know I'm not good at these kind of things, but without Sam around, someone has to do it."

"And you're doing a pretty good job," Danny replied jokingly. He then raised his hand a bit into the air.

Tucker raised his hand as well, smiling kindly.

They clapped their hands together in a high-five and hold them in the same position for a few seconds. Smiling widely and feeling revitalized, Danny stood up and glared into the air. The battle between Skulker and his doppelgangers was still raging and only seemed to become more intense.

**"Aahh!"**

Danny winced again as a wounded doppelganger fell through the branches of the large oak. Weakened and drained of energy it dissipated into a puff of green smoke just before hitting the ground. "And another one bites the dust," he murmured. _I'd better step in now._ The ghost teen looked one more time at his friend, who looked worried after seeing the injured duplicate. "I'll finish this fight and then our 'girl-free' weekend can officially begin!" Danny said reassuringly, he then summoned a blue aura around himself and clenched his fists. "Don't worry, this time I'll use the Thermos," he added cheerfully before willing himself intangible and launching himself into the air.

Tucker stared through branches at the battle overhead before letting his head rest against the tree. "That's the Danny Phantom I know," he whispered happily.

As Danny clashed in the night sky with his deadly adversary, a battered duplicate descended towards the lake beneath him. For a moment he stared solemnly at his reflection in the water, several minor glowing wounds and cuts being distorted by the small waves as they moved on. He sighed briefly as he prepared to dissolve himself; in his current state he wouldn't be of much help anyway. However, his eyes widened in surprise when he spotted Tucker's red beret slowly drifting past him. The doppelganger smiled warmly. He picked it up and briefly made it intangible to let the water slide off. Carefully holding the cap in his right hand, he turned around and flew towards his best friend. It seemed he could be still of some help after all...

**The End!**


End file.
